Gender, Division of Unpaid Family Work and Psychological Distress in Dual-Earner Families

Abstract

Introduction: Epidemiological studies have only recently begun to address the consequences of unpaid family work (ie., housework and child rearing) for mental health. Although research is suggestive of an association between the division of unpaid family work and psychological health, especially for women, additional research is required to clarify the conditions under which such a relationship holds. The purpose of the present study was to examine more nuanced relationships between the division of family work and psychological distress by disaggregating the family work construct according to type (housework/child rearing), control over scheduling, and evaluations of fairness. Methods:Analysis of data obtained from a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted in a Canadian city. Analyses were based on 293 employed parents (182 mothers and 111 fathers), with at least one preschool child, living in dual-earner households. Several multiple linear regression models were estimated with psychological distress as the outcome, adjusting for confounders.Results:For mothers, more perceived time spent in child rearing (particularly primary child care) and high-schedule-control housework tasks (e.g. yard work) relative to one’s partner, were associated with greater distress. For fathers, perceived unfairness in the division of housework and child rearing were associated with greater distress.Conclusion:Although methodological limitations temper firm conclusions, these results suggest that the gendered nature of household work has implications for the psychological well-being of both mothers and fathers of preschool children in dual-earner households. However, more longitudinal research and the development of theoretically-informed measures of family work are needed to advance the field.

Unfair to Me or Unfair to My Spouse: Men's and Women's Perceptions of Domestic Equity and How They Relate to Mental and Physical Health

“…Research examining gender differences in perceptions of domestic equity shows that women are more likely than men to report the division of household labor is unfair to themselves, whereas men are more likely to report the division is unfair to their spouse (DeMaris & Longmore, 1996;Lennon & Rosenfield, 1994;Robinson & Spitze, 1992;Tao et al, 2010). Put another way, both men and women tend to recognize that wives complete an unfair share of the housework and are under-benefited compared with husbands.…”

“…As equity theory and relational ethics suggest, perceiving the division of household labor as unfair may have implications for mental and physical health (Bird, 1999;Boszormenyi-Nagy & Krasner, 1986;Robinson & Spitze, 1992;Tao et al, 2010;Walster et al, 1978). Individuals may believe the division of household labor is unfair to either themselves or to their spouse, but it is important to consider that these different experiences of being either under-or over-benefited may have unique associations with mental and physical health.…”

“…More specifically, some research shows that perceptions of domestic equity are related to mental health, but only for men (e.g., Tao et al, 2010). Most research, however, suggests the opposite: that perceptions of domestic equity are related to women's mental health but not men's (e.g., Glass & Fujimoto, 1994;Robinson & Spitze, 1992;Voydanoff & Donnelly, 1999).…”

“…Past research treats this as a linear variable, with scores ranging from 1 (very unfair to me) to 5 (very unfair to my spouse) and a value of 3 indicating the division is fair to both spouses (e.g., Glass & Fujimoto, 1994; for similar linear coding see also Lennon & Rosenfield, 1994). Most researchers recode perceptions of fairness into a dummy-coded variable where believing the division is unfair to oneself and one's spouse are coded together as ''perceptions of unfairness'' and compared with the other category ''fair to both'' (e.g., Tao et al, 2010;Voydanoff & Donnelly, 1999). More recently, it has been suggested that perceiving the division as unfair to oneself or to one's spouse may have different meanings and consequences and therefore should not be treated along the same continuum nor as equivalents (Wheaton & Young, 2009;Young et al, 2013).…”

“…The division of household labor and, more importantly for this article, how it is perceived, may have serious implications for mental and physical health (e.g., Glass & Fujimoto, 1994;Robinson & Spitze, 1992;Tao, Janzen, & Abonyi, 2010). In addition to the actual division of housework, feelings of inequity are in and of themselves potential sources of psychological distress (Bird, 1999).…”